We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rachel Berkowitz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rachel below.

Alright, Rachel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I am so happy being the artist that I am. Creating artwork brings me deep joy. From working alone on paintings in my studio, to creatively collaborating with other artists, there is nothing I enjoy more. Art is what I live for.

I know what it’s like to have a 9-5 job, as well as part-time work. Being a full-time artist now, I look back at all the odd jobs I used to do before I was able to establish myself.
From full-time jewelry design assistant, to part-time bar tender, server, teacher, clothing sales, I have had my fair share of job titles in my life.

It takes confidence to devote 100% of your time to your passion and, only until I was making enough money to sustain myself with my artwork, was I able to leave these part-time jobs behind.

However, I am always open to creative opportunities. I love creative gigs with companies and individuals, and I still teach art classes to children in schools in LA that cannot afford arts education whenever I can. Social impact through creativity and being able to inspire others with artwork is what I live for.

Rachel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Primarily, I am a painter and portrait photographer. At the current moment, I am mostly focusing on abstract expressionistic painting, but I have done a number of recent artistic studio photography with various musicians.

I live and work in Los Angeles, and I was raised in London, England. After graduating with a BA in Fine Arts from the UCLA School of Art and Architecture in 2016, I have been a full-time artist and part-time teacher for both adults and children. I am very passionate about bringing together communities through creative workshops and accessible art events.

For me, abstract painting is a pure physical expression, a joyous meditation. I like to use paint in an experimental manner, where the materiality of the medium is taken to different levels, using contrasting techniques to highlight the structural element of painting itself. I find a beauty in the analogue motions of using brushes and tools to physically apply paint onto a canvas; the painting movements themselves a dance, lacking any modern elements of technology or digitization, a rare occurrence in this modern world.

My abstract paintings stem from emotions; Every brush stroke is a part of my soul, conveying the beauty of life that I experience into a meditation that can be visually felt from my audience. Most importantly, my artwork exists to harmonize in its environment, and presents healing qualities, gifting my audience feelings evoking a new appreciation for light, life and a sense of grounding.

My artistic practice concentrates on the spiritual elements associated with nature and how this plays with different states of the mind. Inspired by organic forms, these emotional abstracts act as a meditative guide to spark creative thinking, spiritual guidance and beams of positivity. I have combined the spiritual elements behind nature with symbols of fate and good luck, focusing on concepts behind natural preservation, self love and a healthy mental awareness. The work acts as an energetic transfer, as if the paintings themselves are sigils; The intricacy of the forms contrasting with natural color selection allows for deep spiritual contemplation. My extensive travels across National Parks have been used as inspiration for my most recent paintings, placing a need on the heightened concern for conservation and preservation.

My most recent painting series is titled “Eternal Bouquets”. The work addresses congratulatory feelings, allowing for the audience to be credited for their achievements. No one can ever receive enough flowers as we are all deserving of recognition and love, even just for being alive and thriving.
I want my audience to be showered with love as they experience this series for the first time, which is currently shown in a solo show at the gallery “Great Art Space” in Beverly Hills, until September 30th.
I have been deeply inspired by the text “Thought Forms” by Annie Besant, and the compositional qualities seen in the works of the spiritual abstract masters Kandinsky and Hilma Af Klint.

In the next few years, I hope to keep using my creativity to partner with organizations and leaders to help make the world a better place. I hope to be a part of more art auction for charities, to be able to reach global audiences through my artwork for larger causes. I hope for my artwork to be featured and used by companies and organizations making huge economic impacts on the world. I hope to be in more literary journals, and to partner with more writers. I have illustrated three books, one to help children understand serious heart conditions, one that takes the reader on a spiritual healing journey, and one short fictional, whimsical story. I hope to continue to illustrate more important texts for the world to learn and engage with.

My biggest passion is to inspire others through my artwork, so I also teach art classes for both children and adults. I am part of a program where I am sent to different elementary schools that do not have sufficient funds for art education and I have taught over 100 students art in one day. For adults, I host a monthly sip-and-paint session, where I teach landscape painting. I have learnt the importance of being able to focus on a pleasant task where the mind is completely rid of digital screens; Any anxiety or sense of urgency one might experience while at work is completely dismissed during the painting process. I lead classes where I focus on incorporating nature into the artwork, allowing my students to enter into a similar void of meditative contemplation, as they focus on representing natural elements. I envision my creative expansion, global outreach and hope to keep influencing my audience with my visual artistic practices.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

SCAM

Fine artists: if you get a message from someone saying they’d like to buy your artwork as an NFT and you do not produce digital artwork as a part of your practice, it’s a scam. Don’t fall for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rachelberkowitzart.com
• Instagram: @rachelberkowitzart
• Facebook: Rachel Berkowitz Art
• Linkedin: Rachel Berkowitz